Ain't It Funky Now!

Overview

Subtitled "Flat Out Funk From the Jazz Brotherhood," this takes 18 Prestige soul-jazz cuts from the late '60s and early '70s. For serious collectors of this stuff, the big attraction here might be that 13 of the 18 numbers are presented in their 45 single edits, rather than their full-length album versions. To some, that might seem like a disadvantage, as you're actually not hearing some music from the longer versions. In its defense, it must be said that those 45 edits are pretty hard to find and also that, particularly for those who see this style as dancefloor fodder, the shorter edits are sometimes valued for honing in on the principal hooks and riffs rather than the improv solos. As a whole, it actually serves as a good sampler/overview of the large late-'60s/early-'70s Prestige soul-jazz catalog, which is spread out on innumerable albums and reissues and can be hard for a neophyte to taste in a manageable dose. Many of the big soul-jazz names on the Prestige roster are here, including Charles Earland, Idris Muhammad, Melvin Sparks, Gene Ammons, Charles Kynard, Boogaloo Joe Jones, and Rusty Bryant. Interspersed among the original compositions are instrumental covers of then-hits like "Son of a Preacher Man," "I Want You Back," "Super Bad," "Express Yourself," and Sly Stone's "Thank You, Pt. 1." It's a tasty helping of the house sound the label carved within this niche, with a jazz core but heavy on soulful brass, effervescent organ, and sharp R&B-blues-influenced guitar links, often bearing the influence of early funk (particularly James Brown) as well.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/24/2007
Label:	DARK PEAK PRODUCTIONS
UPC:	0029667514910
Rank:	41777

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Idris Muhammad   Primary Artist,Horn,Drums,Cabassa,Cowbell,Gong
Boogaloo Joe Jones   Primary Artist
Gene Ammons   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Funk, Inc.   Primary Artist
Charles Earland   Primary Artist,Percussion,Organ,Piano
Houston Person   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Rusty Bryant   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Leon Spencer   Primary Artist,Organ
Melvin Sparks   Primary Artist,Guitar
Harold Mabern   Primary Artist,Piano
Freddie McCoy   Primary Artist,Vibraphone
Charles Kynard   Primary Artist,Organ
Jimmy Heath   Flute,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Joanne Brackeen   Piano
Carol Kaye   Bass
Victor Paz   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Buddy Caldwell   Congas
Joe Pass   Guitar
Jon Faddis   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Joe Shepley   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Lee Morgan   Trumpet
Hubert Laws   Flute,Sax (Tenor)
Stuart Sharf   Guitar
Steve Weakley   Guitar
Wilbert Longmire   Guitar
Clarence Thomas   Bells,Flute,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Maynard Parker   Guitar
Wilton Felder   Sax (Tenor)
Jack Jeffers   Trumpet,Trombone
Richard Gene Williams   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Grant Green   Guitar
Bob Bushnell   Bass
Garnett Brown   Trombone
Virgil Jones   Trumpet
Buster Williams   Bass
Grover Washington, Jr.   Sax (Tenor)
Alan Fontaine   Guitar
Jimmy Munford   Drums
Gene Barr   Sax (Tenor)
Cecil Hunt   Congas
Darryl Washington   Drums,Percussion
Al Dreares   Drums
Joe Craig Jones   Piano,Guitar
Bobby Watley   Organ
Seldon Powell   Bass,Flute (Alto)
Sonny Phillips   Organ
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie   Drums
Jimmy Lewis   Bass
Bill Mason   Organ
Billy Harper   Sax (Tenor),Flute (Alto)

Technical Credits

Boogaloo Joe Jones   Composer
James Brown   Composer
Alphonso Mizell   Composer
Gene Ammons   Composer
Eddie Harris   Composer
John Hurley   Composer
Leonard Caston   Composer
Rusty Bryant   Composer
Dean Rudland   Liner Notes
Robert "Kool" Bell   Composer
Leo Nocentelli   Composer
Jeremy Taylor   Composer
Charles Wright   Composer
Charles Earland   Composer
Robert "Spike" Mickens   Composer
Ronald Bell   Composer
Rudy Van Gelder   Engineer
Ronnie Wilkins   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Anita Poree   Composer
Brad Shapiro   Composer
Harold Ousley   Composer
Cal Lampley   Supervisor
Wilson Pickett   Composer
Sylvester Stewart   Composer
Freddie Perren   Composer
Gene Redd, Jr.   Composer
Deke Richards   Composer
Dennis "D.T." Thomas   Composer
Richard Westfield   Composer
Richard Fritz   Composer
Bobby Watley   Composer
Claydes Smith   Composer
Berry Gordy, Jr.   Composer